COURT SIDES WITH POLICE IN ROADBLOCK CASE RULING

The Boca Raton Police Department followed proper procedures when they stopped a man at a special roadblock in May 1984 and arrested him on drunken driving charges, an appeals court has ruled.

Warren Abelson, of Boca Raton, challenged his late-night arrest saying police had insufficient probable cause to stop and arrest him at the Federal Highway roadblock.

A Palm Beach County Court judge originally said the police had taken the legally proscribed precautions when they set up the roadblock. A Palm Beach Circuit Court judge later decided otherwise and threw out the arrest.

Now the 4th District Court of Appeal has sided with police, basing its Wednesday ruling on a February 1986 state Supreme Court decision that outlined requirements for a roadblock.

Abelson's lawyer, Joseph L. Daye, would not comment.

The Florida Supreme Court decision, following the lead of previous court rulings, outlines several precautions a police agency must take when flagging people at a DWI roadblock.

Among those precautions are:

Having adequate flashers and other warnings so drivers are not placed in a dangerous situation.

Determining ahead of time how many out of each 10 vehicles will be stopped.

Making sure the drivers are not detained for a lengthy period of time unless they are suspected to be under the influence.

"The state's compelling interest in protecting the public from drunk drivers outweighs any minimal intrusion into their privacy which a proper roadblock might cause," the state Supreme Court justices wrote last month.